---
title: "Psych News Alert: Psychiatric Medications Not Associated With Poorer Weight Loss Following Bariatric Surgery"
description: Psychiatric medications do not appear to interfere with weight loss in obese patients who have had bariatric surgery, according to a repo...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/GUY%20ON%20A%20SCALE%20iStock-165874752-Jun-24-2025-05-15-02-9348-PM.jpg
---

 2/13/20 12:00 AM

# Psychiatric Medications Not Associated With Poorer Weight Loss Following Bariatric Surgery

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Psychiatric medications do not appear to interfere with weight loss in obese patients who have had bariatric surgery, according to a [report](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033318219302208) in *Psychosomatics*, the journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.

Moreover, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) may be associated with greater weight loss than other types of antidepressants one year after bariatric surgery, according to Michael Hawkins, M.D., of the Scarborough Health Network-Centenary Site in Ontario and colleagues.

Comorbid psychiatric illness is common among obese patients who have bariatric surgery, and some antidepressants are known to cause weight gain. Hawkins and colleagues sought to determine whether psychiatric medications affected the amount of weight lost following surgery.

They analyzed data on 190 patients who had bariatric surgery. Of these, 61 were taking psychiatric medications before surgery, and 50 continued taking psychiatric medications one year after surgery. Antidepressants and benzodiazepines/hypnotics were the most common medications taken by patients before and after surgery.

They found no significant difference in total weight loss between patients taking a psychiatric medication before surgery compared with those who were not; nor was there a difference in weight loss among those taking a psychiatric medication one year after surgery compared with those who were not. Among patients taking antidepressants, those taking SNRIs lost significantly more weight than patients taking serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (36.4% vs. 27.8%).

“This longitudinal study suggests that psychiatric medication use was not associated with poorer [percent total weight loss] at one year after bariatric surgery, ”  wrote the researchers. “ Within class, antidepressant use may have differential effects on weight loss after bariatric surgery and warrants further investigation.”

For related information, see the *Psychiatric News* article “[SGAs Increase Teen Abdominal Fat, Decrease Insulin Sensitivity](https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2018.8a12).”

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[bariatric surgery](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/bariatric-surgery), [weight loss after bariatric surgery](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/weight-loss-after-bariatric-surgery), [psychiatric medications and weight gain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychiatric-medications-and-weight-gain), [Psychosomatics: The Journal of Consultation-Liaiso](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychosomatics-the-journal-of-consultation-liaison), [antidepressants and weight gain](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antidepressants-and-weight-gain)

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